Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-02-11
IN THEIR RIA IILR D 4 b no d, O L
Several Coaches Of q Railroad Train
60 OF : Bridge Near Wood
stock, Vermont.
The Wreck Immediately laKes Fire
and Helpless Passengers are Burned
BIS to Death

Il WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt, Feb. 5-The
express train that left Boston at z O'clock
last night met with terrible accident near
Woodstock, on the Central Vermont railroad,
Ct about 52:3O o'clock this morning. Tho
train was detained here SO 1t was about an
hour and half late when it left here. It
consisted Of locomotive. baggage car,
postal car, two passenger coaches and two
sleeping cars, and was running at the usual
tate Of speed. When about 200 yards south
Of the end Of the deck bridge near the old
Windsor station a broken rail was struck
The locomotive, baggage car and postal car
broke away from the rest of the train, pass
Ing over the bridge in safety. The rest Of
the train was thrown from the rails and con-
hnued on the road-bed until it came near
the end Of the bridge, but there it ran over
the abutment and all of the cars fell into the
White river, fifty feet below. The gorge at
this point is friRhtful, and when the cars
went down there was terrible crash
AS soon as possible the detached
part of the train was stopped
and ran buck to the scene of
the disaster. The screams Of the injured
were heartrending Assistance also came
from the people living in the vicinity, and
everything was done to rescue and relieve
The injured Soon after help arrived it was
discovered that fire had started in tho first
passenger coach. and soon the entire train
was ablaze, thus adding new horror Those
present were powerless to stop the fire, and
devoted themselves entirely to attempts to
tescue those imprisoned in the wreck. The
teecuers met another and unexpected obsta-
Gle in the heat, which had become so intense
that they were obliged to relinquish their
efforts to save the sufferers, and were COM
PEELED to retreat to place Of safety for
themselves, and to become unwilling wit
hesses Of the awful holocaust In addition,
the weather was intensely cold, and the he
roic rescuers were hindered thereby in their
work. No water could be obtained with
which to check or extinguish the flames
The Ice was several inches thick on the
river. and there were no appliances at hand
to raise it.
The accident is the most terrible of any
tnat ever occurred in Northern New En-
gland Charles W. Hosnaer Of Lowell, Mass
who was on the train, states that he was in
Central Vermont sleeping car. He says:
can remember twenty passengers who were
IN the car with me. There were five ladies
among them: was awakened by the humping
Of the Car. Then came the crash and all was
darkness. There were means and calls for help:
I found myself pinned down by seat which
lay across my hips, but broke the window and
the car dropped tifty-five feet The other three
cars were also on the ice. having broken away
from the forward part OF the train. A gen
tleman who occupied the berth next to
succeeded In extricatinR him. Mrs. Pryden of
Montreal was In the ruins and underneath me-
and we saved her: 1t was necessary to tear her
clothing off TO get her out. was the first per-
son to get out. A Mr.. Hutchins of Braintree
w., escaped and assisted in saving others.
worked until was SO chilled I could do nothing
fire, and amid the swirling flames, those who
were unable to escape could be seen in the en-
brace OF death. I could see the Imprisoned
passengers either calling for help or insensible
Out OF the twenty two in my car, personally
know that niue, at least. were saved. Isaw two
OF those in my car in the flames. remember q
Montreal trappcur, who had been with his club
In Boston. He was accompanied by lady. He
was saved. but his companion was lost. !:
soME OF THE INCIDENTS
A man was seen with little child in his
arms on the bank of the river, both dead.
The body of Pullman Conductor Burgess
was one of the first taken out. It was not
badly mutilated The remains of the porter
of one OF the cars was identified by his
clothing and watch. The body of A L.
Wesson was identified tonight In the
pocket of blue dress coat was found let
ter written upon letterhead Of q. W. San
ford, agent OF the Moxie Nerve Food COM
pany, dated Washington, d. c., Dec 80, and
addressed to Dear Charles. The body of the
owner is supposed to have been entirely
men to have been that of Charles W.
Sandford formerly in the employ of s.
c. Chase & Co. of Boston. He was in the
Boston Pullman car. A coat belonging to
Charles A. Hibard of Boston was found.
to have been seriously injured. Most OF the
bodies recovered were taken to the village
Of Hartford and placed In an undertaker's
establishment Thirty-nine bodies in all
have been taken out Of the wreck, and only
five OF this number are in any manner
how many wero in the train, as the con-
ductor had only begun taking UP tickets
after leaving here Many bodies have prob
ably gone into the river and under the ice.
WORSE AND WORSE
At this hour (midnight) thirtv-nine bodies
in all have been recovered from the wreck
and 1t ia positively known that AZ persons
persisted One OF the wrecked cars on the
Ice has not yet been overhauled, and it is
thought at least twenty bodies are in the de-
bris. Should this prove true it will run the
list OF killed up to over sixty. This
will not include those which may
have been carried into the river through the
ice The latest communication as to the num-
Der OF persons on the train places it at over
one hundred. When the last car on the ice
is overhauled tomorrow and further
Identification takes place, a more complete
list will be obtainable. although it ia thought
that score of the bodies already recovered
are SO distigured as to preclude any possibil-
ity of Identification. Many of the surviv-
ors will probably die of their wounds
considering the height from which the cars
fell and the speed with which the train was
running, it is regarded as q miracle that any
one escaped. The first passenger to escape
Xanh M0fnnnE Canadian
boy. He was with his father,
David Marquet, on the way from
Holyoke to their homes in Canada
The boy sat three seats behind his father, in
the third car from the rear. He
was doing in his seat when
he felt the cars shiver In this
few seconds the car dashed over the bridge
upon the ice. By hard work the boy got out
of ono Of the windows He at once went in
search of his father and discovered
him BY the light Of the burning wreck Just
above him, pinned down by y part Of the top
NJ the cAf which had fa1lov 1T o.vpnea